Bottle cap forming apparatus



Dec. 15, 1-953 E. J. JoNssoN 2,662,498

BOTTLE CAP FORMING APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1946 4 sheets-sheet 1 12@ E?. l P" 1a o Z7 f ag M i ze r 5 26 1 f t 2 i r6 A 1A Dec. 15, 1953 E. J. JoNssoN 2,662,498

BOTTLE CAP FORMING APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ex nur Toads 1531155011 uqvriwrof.

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Dec. 15, 1953 E. J. JoNssoN 2,662,498

BOTTLE CAP FORMING APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 15 /fv Vf/v 70/9: f w1/@ desir Jan/550m 7 Arry's Dec. 15, 1953 E. J. JoNssoN BOTTLE CAP F'ORMING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 25, 1946 mw m H a W M u W@ m, 9 w, 8 W 9&6 occ .c d 2 2 2 7 A a a \\\\\\\\\\q& 9 I v` V I etented Dec. 15, 1953 2,662,498 BOTTLE oAP roRMINo APPARATUS Einar Josef Jonsson, Linkoping,

Sweden, as-

vsignor to Aktiebolaget Alka Aluminumkapslar, Lnkoping, Sweden, a joint-stock company of `Sweden Application April 25, 1946, Serial No. 664,908 Claims priority, application Sweden May 3, 1945 i Claims.

The present invention relates to a bottle or similar container capping'machine which manufactures and, if desired, also iits out the caps necessary for the capping, the bottles being fed by a conveyor to the capping place, at which there is an adjustable member, the so-oalled feeler, which is adapted to be moved by engagement with each bottle when the saine reaches and engages the feeler. The invention is generally characterized by the fact that the feeler is adapted to control a motion transmitting mechanism and that said mechanism is adapted in turn, to control the operation or" one or more cap punches and a feeding 'mechanism for one or more blank strips while the driving mechanisin for the punching and feeding means continuously maintains its motion. Each bottle (or container) which is to be capped, throws said Working member or tool into operative condition through the action of the ieeler. lt is not necessary that the particular cap which is manufactured through the actuating impulse of a particular bottle, be applied on said bottle. It may be applied on a preceding or on a succeeding bottle.

The feeler is preferably mounted in the bottle conveyor portion of the machine, on the socalled star wheel, between the arms of which the bottles are inserted and adjusted and fed at a suitable mutual distance. In this star wheel there is, for example, a feeler at each bottle position. In a suitable embodiment the feeler consists of a radially movable pin which, upon engagement with a bottle, is adapted to slide inwardly in the star wheel and, upon such actuation, to cause operation of the motion control mechanism for the strip feeding and cap forming tools.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows the machine in lateral elevation and vertical section.

Fig. 2 in plan and horizontal section.

Fig. 3 shows the right hand part of the machine in a vertical section on the line III-III, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows on a larger scale and in axial section a working member or tool, the so-called cap punch, which is described below.

Fig. 5 shows a detail on a larger scale.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the strip feeding and cap forming mechanism of the invention.

Figure 7 is an enlarged elevational view of a helically grooved cam member.

Figure 8 shows a cap forming punch member after having out a cap blank from a strip of cap material and immediately prior to the forming of the blank into a cap.

Figure 9 shows the cap forming punch member after the cut blank has been formed into a cap, with a die carrying sleeve member in the position which it occupies relative to the punch member while reciprocating therewith during intervals when no caps are being formed.

Referring to the drawings the bottles I to be capped are introduced at :2l to the conveyor comprising the feeding wheel 2, the wheel being in the form of a star so as to space each bottle at a predetermined distance from its neighbours. The feelers 3, are mounted in the feeding wheel 2 in such a way that, when each bottle is moved by the wheel, a feeler is moved by the bottle and set in operative position as is described below.

The feelers t, which consist of pins, are radially and slidably mounted in the feeding wheel 2 so that each bottle, as it is introduced to the wheel, pushes a feeler inwardly towards the centre of the wheel to operative position. As the feeding wheel rotates, the inwardly moved feelers contact and ride over a stationary cam surface il (Figs. 1 and 2) positioned within the wheel and are moved outwardly to their initial or inoperative position. During rotation of the feeding wheel each feeler 3 when in operative position, i. e., pushed inwardly by a bottle, comes into contact with movable cam '.i having a contacting surface in the form of an arc and moves it downwardly. The cam 5 is connected to a lever 6 which in turn is pivoted to one end ci an arm 1. The other end of the arm 'i is connected to one end of a shaft 3 so that with a downward movement of the cam 5 the shaft e is rotated. The other end of *he shaft 8 connected to one end of an arm 9 (Fig. 3) which is pivoted to a link iti as shown. rihe linl: iii is pivoted to an extension of a rctatahly mount-ed hclically grooved cam Il which extension on a downward movement of the cam 5 and through the members E, '1, 8, 9 and iii, is moved upwardly turning the cam il counter-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 3. Thus, it will be seen, the downward movement oi the cam 5 caused by a ieeler when in operative position causes a turning movement of the helically grooved cam H.

The cam li has pivot-ally attached thereto one end of a link It the other end of which is pivoted to an extension of a split ring element I4 one end of which indicated at Ma is adapted to cover the teeth ci coupling member in the form of a ratchet wheel I movable by a pawl I6 as will be described.

The ratchet wheel I5 is driven in a step-by-step counter-clockwise direction by the pawl I6 which is driven constantly to and fro by conventional means (not shown) with which the pawl is in uninterrupted driving connection through the link member il. Each movement of the ratchet wheel It operates a strip feeding mechanism generally indicated at 35 having rollers which feed a blank strip of capping material 29 in a step-bystep movement to the cap forming punch 22. The curved contacting surface of the cam 5 is of such a length as will permit one feeler, when in operative position, to be in contact with the depressed cam 5, before the preceding feeler in operative position has left contact with the cam thus ensuring that the cam 5 is constantly depressed as long as the supply of bottles to the feeding wheel is continuous. Should there be a gap in this supply one or more feelers 3 (depending on the number of botties missing) will not be pushed to operative position and the cam 5, after the last feeler in operative position has left contact therewith, will rise and its movement will be transmitted, through the members G, 8, i) and iii, to the cam II which will thus rotate in a clockwise direction. The movement of the cam iI will cause the link i3 (Figs. 3 and 5) to move to the left and the split ring element ifi will ce moved round in the same direction as the ratchet wheel I5, i. e., counter-clockwise so that its end Lic covers the teeth of the wheel preventing them from being engaged by the constantly moving pawl i6. The pawl IE will become disengaged from the ratchet wheel but will continue its movements and will ride over the split ring element end Ilia shielding the teeth, thus producing no movement of the ratchet wheel. When the supply of bottles to the feeding wheel commences again the reverse of this operation will occur and the pawl will then rotate the ratchet wheel.

The mechanism for operating the cap punch and die will now be described.

The cam I accommodates in its helical groove lia (Figs. l and 3) a pin IIb nxed to one end of a slide member I2 capable of moving relatively to the cam and having pivoted to its other end a retaining or holding member lic adapted, by movement of the cam li and slide i2 through pin ith, to be moved into and out of engagement with a sleeve 2i' fitted around the cap punch 22. The sleeve is capable or" movement relative to the cap punch, although a substantial amount of friction exists between the punch and the sleeve. rEhe sleeve (Figs. l and 4) is provided with a slit iii through which the blank strip 29 is passed, and a die 23 is incorporated in the lower part of the sleeve, in which a cutting edge 2t is provided. Fig. l shows the slit and the cutting edge in the transverse direction of the slit. Figs. 4, S and 9 show the same in the longitudinal direction of the slit.

The cap punch 2?. is constantly vertically reciprocate-zd by the conventional driving means with which it is in uninterrupted driving connection through the arm 32. When the supply1 of bottles to the feeding wheel is continuous and the cam is constantly depressed as previously explained, the retaining member 12a is in engagement with the sleeve 2i, as shown in Fig. l and the cap punch 22 reciprocates within the sleeve 2i which is held substantially stationary by the retaining member 21a. In its downward stroke the cap punch forces the blank strip 29 in the slit 25 against the cutting edge 26 of the die and a cap blank is cut out of the strip. Continued downward movement of the punch forces the cap blank onto a iixed cap forming tool (genn erally indicated at 28) by passing the blank through the die 23 to the position shown in 9. During this movement, the cap blank is formed into a bottle cap. With the punch 22 and die 23 in the relative position shown in Fig. 9, the punch 22 engages the last hole cut in blank strip 29, thereby preventing movement of the strip 2e through the slit 25 until the parts are moved to the relative positions shown in Fig. 4, with the punch 22 spaced above the strip 29. When there is a gap in the supply of bottles to the feeding wheel 2, the sequence of events will occur as described with reference to the operation of the ratchet wheel mechanism, wherein movement of the rising cam 5 is transmitted through the members 6, i, t, 9 and i to the cam I I which is thus rotated in a clockwise direction. Rotation of the cam i! will cause the pin Ii) accommodated in the helical groove I ia to move pin lib to the left, moving the slide member i2 to which it is fixed away from the cap punch and disengaging the retaining member Ia from de sleeve.

The sleeve is now free to move with the constantly reciprocating punch 222 and as there is a substantial amount of friction between the punch and the sleeve as already stated, the latter will participate in the reciprocating movement of the fermer, with the result that there is no relative movement between the punch, the die and the sleeve and therefore the punch cannot operate effectively to cut a cap blank or form a bottle cap.

During this ineffective vertical reciprocation of punch 22 together with the die 23, the strip material Z9 in the slit 25 will also reciprocate vertically, feeding action being prevented by the punch 22 which remains in a position projecting into the die 23 through the last hole cut in the strip 2S. As eiective operation of the blank strip feed rollers is also stopped simultaneously with the stoppage of effective operation of the cap punch, there is no feed of the blank strip through the slit 25 in the sleeve 1whilst the punch is inefiectively operable. When the supply ci" bottles to the feeding wheel commences again, the feelers in operative position will depress the cam 5 the movement of which will he transmitted through the members t, "i, 8, 9 and i0 to the cam II as previously explained, which will be rotated in an anti-clockwise direction, and cause the slide member i2, through the helical groove and the pin Hb therein, to move towards the cap punch, and the retaining member' i2@ to reengage the sleeve 2?, thus permitting the punch to reciprocate therein relative to the die and eiiectively operate.

it will be seen that the effective operation of the cap punch and die and the strip feed rollers is controlled simultaneously by the bottles as they are moved by the feeding wheel, and that the absence of a bottle or bottles will cause the simultaneous ineffective operation of the cap punch and feed rollers, without disconnecting the drive of either from the main drive of the machine.

The nnished cap is moved, in a known way, from the cap punch to the capping head 3) by compressed air which blows the cap through the channel 3l to the head below which a bottle I is ready to receive the cap.

The machine according to the invention has great advantages, as the cap punch and the started at each operation, which is of great importance particularly at high speeds.

The machine may include other devices used in bottle capping machines such as a mechanism for inserting sealing discs in the bottle caps and operate effectively by couplings actuated through feelers in a simular manner to that described herein.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I claim:

1. A device of the class described, comprising:

preventing said die member from moving with said punch member; controllable strip feeding 4 means connected for continuous driving with said conveyor means for feeding blank strip cap tainers.

4. A device according to claim 3, further comprising fixed cam means for restoring each of said slidable members to its initial position after actuation by engagement with a container.

EINAR JOSEF JONSSON.

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,212,665 Nordstrom Jan. 16, 1917 1,995,357 Liss Mar. 26, 1935 2,049,768 Glunz Aug, 4, 1936 2,490,926 Slater Dec. 13, 1949 2,600,393 Cohn June 17, 1952 

